Aroojis Wine Room

I have been here twice. First time the service was excellent. I got the lasagna and it was delicious. Second time it wasn’t that great of a experience. We waited forever to be seated. They were seating inside and outside so the staff was going in and out of the doors and not one person told us they would be right with us. Finally someone came and walked us to a table. The bread is good with the bean dip. I got a pasta with steak. Steak was tender but very small. Sauce was flavorful. My fiancé got the salmon dish and thought it was good. Server was nice but you can tell he was overwhelmed.

Ok, what’s up with this location. I had to call and get directions in the strip mall. But I found it. I walked in and just stood there. About a minute or so later a waiter came up to me and asked how many were in my party. Whew… I was about to walk out but I needed to use my Groupon and had driven this far so I really wasn’t leaving. The waiter was super nice. The calamari was okay. I liked the aioli sauce. The lasagna was really tasty but I was too full to get past a few bites. I’m looking forward to the leftover meal.

Weird experience! Tonight when I got to the restaurant I was told that my reservation had been cancelled? And the small party room that I had been promised was locked and no longer available? It was a birthday dinner for a friend so it was very disappointing for all. Our server was great and the food was good, but when we went to pay I could not find any of the wait staff or even the owners that could help me with change for a twenty. The owner had no interest in helping us and in fact packed up his stuff and left the restaurant while this was going on. I am not a complainer and love to eat out at good places, but I have no interest in returning to this restaurant.

Rudest service I have ever encountered, took me aback and being new to food allergies, I did nothing while the manager yelled at me.
I had called ahead and asked if I could bring my own pasta so, I could enjoy their sauce. Everything was very nice, my husband and I were enjoying a table outside, some wine, a nice salads. Then the manager came out with my meal and told me NEVER to do that again and chastised like a me like a child. I just sat there and felt like crying, I didn’t say a thing back and I regret it now. I never told him I called and asked before if I could bring my own pasta, and that they could charge me the full amount for my dish. I just wanted to enjoy the evening.
Everyone has an off night, even though In the public eye you should suck it up for paying customers.
The way you treat people says a lot about you.

So this is a wine bar so I’ll start there. Ordered a bottle of cakebread chardonnay, and they were out. Ok no big deal we’ll try the Sonoma Cutrer — out. Ok how about KJ Grand Reserve — out. Tried one more and guess what, they’re out. Why put this on your menu? We switched to Cabernet to see if we could have some better luck. Ordered a bottle of Silverado. Guess what, they were out. Guys that is pathetic. Zero out of 5 bottles at a wine bar, and they’re bottles on your menu? You are located right next to Total Wine. GO STOCK UP. They must be going out of business. Chicken dish tasted like chicken jerky. My wife’s pasta dish was very good. Couldn’t find the crab in the crab dip just mayo. Servers were very friendly! Won’t be going back.

I’ve been here twice. The first time was for lunch several years ago and I recalled really enjoying it. This last time for dinner was just okay.
I really like the atmosphere of Arooji’s. It is very warm and comforting. The giant racks of wine, the high ceilings, and all of the wood give the place a nice vibe. The service was attentive.
The food wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t great. We started out with the calamari which was very good and certainly better than average calamari. I got a special which was a mix of mussels and clams in a wine/​herb broth. The broth was nice, the clams were meaty, but I don’t know what went wrong with the mussels. It appeared that they had been cooked to death to the point where they and just about completely disintegrated. My date got the lobster ravioli. The presentation was nice but the dish was devoid of flavor. Lobster is a very distinctive flavor and if you are eating it, you know it. I could not discern much lobster flavor in this ravioli. There really wasn’t much flavor otherwise either. We were «cheating» in getting this rich dish on a week night with the pasta and cream sauce. Needless to say, we were disappointed by the lack of decadence.
It’s a shame that the food was more consistently good as there are a lot of things to like about this spot.

Dinner: Terrible service and even worse food. Cold and obviously microwaved. Would not recommend.
Lunch: Totally different atmosphere. Salads are good and service is fast.

Ladies room dirty! stuff splashed or drips all over walls and walls in stalls, hasn’t been cleaned in years and no where to hang your purse so your forced to put it on the dirty floor.
Service was pretty bad. Not enough staff to cover an almost full restaurant. Dirty tables. Waited quite a while for everything. Waiters looked like they were new and didn’t have a clue, walking in circles, could not find the wine we wanted on their by the glass list? got another one. Rigatoni was just fair. chicken marsala was decent. A bit expensive for this food.

Very nice food and wine. I had sea bass and my husband had grilled lamb — both were perfect. Try crab and spinach dip, too!
No kids menu, but you can order any half-​meal or even a custom meal, which we did — our son enjoyed pizza made just according to his taste.
Service was very good, Thanks Jeffrey :)

We’ve been before and had great food. However, this last time we ordered 4 entrees to go, were told it would be 20 – 30 minutes so we arrived 30 minutes later. Upon arrival, we waited another 60 MINUTES. They not only forgot to make our food, but didn’t even rush to get it out to us ‘in time’. I’m not sure I would wait 60 minutes if we were sitting at a table, but we were STANDING at the front door. The manager never came by to speak to us and explain — in fact, we could see him sneaking around in the back, avoiding us, I assume. We were offered no free drinks, no free desserts, and we paid full price for this terrible experience. We will never be going back.

My husband and I went here this evening for date night we saw it was a new restaurant and thought we’d give it a shot. VERY BIG MISTAKE! our food came out Luke warm even though they said it was cooked to order. I had pasta with broccoli and steak. The broccoli came out raw in my pasta, so I asked waitress if I could get some that was cooked. She was very nice and said it would be abound five minutes. So when she brings out new broccoli I can’t believe that this is also raw. My husband and I left hungry and then went to portifinos which is where we should have gone to begin with. Stay away from this place.

Laughed at Jordon O.‘s comments– SUCK ON A SPOON review.
His comment was the pasta tasted like metal.
I actually agree. After the Penne a la Vodka, that metal taste was awfully strong!
Listen to Jordon. He is spot on!

Outstanding just walked in from Orlando Florida and being from NY originally with frequent visits to Little Italy, the food was great. Bread, bread bean and vinegar, onion dip was great. Have the double Tuscan wine and the chiliean sea bass and you will have a fab time. The guy who gave it a one star is not Italian and probably thinks olive garden is 5 star.

About the only decent Italian place in South Charlotte, and well worth the effort. Great service when we last dined in the bar at a high top and the wine is not too badly priced. Try the pasta fajiole and the lasgna.

They make great lunch sandwiches due to New Jersey bread they «import». However, the place is always filthy and they never clean up tabletops as customers leave. They just keep rotating to unused tables. Been here 3 times and have never seen wait staff clean off a table. The employees keep walking by as if they don’t notice it. I don’t understand it. Good food, but who wants to stare at dirty, neglected tables while eating? That lack of attention to cleanliness in the front makes me wonder what the kitchen looks like. Also abysmal wait service with the personality of limp dish towel.

I would give 3 ½ if that was an option…
Ok, this place has all the right elements. It has all the potential in the world! It is dimly lit, rustic/​old-​world décor, intimate, live music, extensive wine list, neighborhood gem, etc. It sounds perfect, right? Well, all of those things are the pluses. But I am not only looking for the atmosphere… I am all about the food…
I would say the food was OK. It wasn’t amazing and it wasn’t puke-​worthy. The bread was fresh and had crunchy crust, which is always a good thing in my book. I loved the canneneli bean dip they serve as well. It was very tasty.
I ordered the pasta fagiole and a salad, the rest of my dining partners ordered chicken parm. My salad and soup were just okay. The soup could have easily been out of a can but it wasn’t bad. The chicken parm was okay as well. The pasta it is served with is very light on sauce and the little that was on there tasted like chef boyardee.
I wanted a past a dish but I honestly didn’t see one on the menu that looked worth the $ 20 they were charging. I mean, even the Penne Vodka was $ 16. I was told it was very salty so I didn’t risk it. All the other pasta dishes had too much going on… shrimp and sausage and mussels, etc. I just wanted a good old fashioned pasta dish or even one that was served with marinara but that was nowhere to be found.
We didn’t try the desserts but they looked good! However, we were told by our waitress that the canoli cream was not made in-​house. I am doubting that very much was made in-​house.
Overall, it was just an okay evening. The service wasn’t spectacular, the food was mediocre and the prices don’t seem necessary.
However, the gentleman singing and playing the guitar was awesome. His voice was soothing and he was extremely talented.
IF I came back it wouldn’t be for dinner. Maybe some wine and appetizers while soaking in the tunes of what sounded like James Taylor! :)

I like to say. «I will be back alot». It was some of the best food I have had in a long time. I could not think that I was eating in Charlotte when it tastes like New York. The fish salmon was great. The veal was pounded and prepared the right way. I had a Gin and Tonic and it was $,. But could not complain cause it was stout. I have been back five times since and enjoyed live music one night. It is a private owed place and the wait staff is great. Keep in mind if they are busy. The food is worth the wait.

My wife and I have been to this restaurant a number of times over the years. Our meal tonight was the worst dining experience we have had in a long time, and it wasn’t all because of the food.
Our server, a blonde in the cocktail area, was oppressively attentive. We were looking forward to a relaxing meal, but it seemed like she came by every couple of minutes or so. It got to be so irritating that we couldn’t wait to escape. It was doubly annoying because I have some issues with my voice right now and have to write things down on a sheet of paper and she was STILL asking both of us how things were going every 3 or 4 minutes. She asked my wife if she wanted a to-​go box while were both still eating.
I haven’t left anyone a 10% tip in many years. I am sure she is a nice girl, but she needs to learn how to read tables a lot better. We made it quite clear with our body language and my wife’s one word responses to her questions, that we really wanted to be left alone. Do her a favor and teach her the right way to do things. And when you only have two specials, she should try to memorize them rather than read them off a piece of paper.
One more thing: I ordered the spaghetti gamberi, which is described on your menu as being sauced with garlic and olive oil. What you served was essentially a thin sauce of crushed cherry tomatoes. I didn’t notice any olive oil. I pointed this out, but she basically told me that it was correctly done. I didn’t feel like arguing.

I have been to Arooji’s once previously for wine and appetizers. So, on Friday night, we spontaneously decided to stop back in to enjoy a bottle of wine (or three as it turns out) with some friends after dinner. The weather was nice and we opted to sit outside. There were serveral other tables of guests outdoors and the ambiance was relaxed and welcoming. They have a great wine list!

4 of us went to Arooji’s in The Promenade on Friday night. We’ve been here 4 times since they opened and had only 1 good experience, which was the previous time we went. I doubt we will go again. Though I have heard that their South Park location is better. Most of their food is good. We ordered the crab dip which my husband thought tasted fishy. I thought it was good but a little too thick and creamy. A lighter crab dip would be better, where you could tast the crab more than what it was mixed with. I ordered the lobster ravioli, which I thought was very good and had a nice size portion. More ravioli than I have gotten elsewhere. My huband ordered the veal saltimboca. When he asked for pasta instead of the mashed potatoes, the waiter told him it’s a $ 4 substitution charge. ($ 4! Is the pasta made of gold?) We also found out that the SouthPark location doesn’t charge for the substitution. My husband wasn’t impressed with the dish. Too much cheese. Our friend ordered a chicken dish which was very good. So, you want to know why I gave it a two… they had their special select wine list in which we ordered a Malbec. After we were half way through the wine and not impressed with it. we realized that the year was not the same as on the list. It was 2 years younger. We ordered another bottle of wine from the list and that too was not the same year as listed on their list. This just screams to me that they really don’t care about the quality of their service or how they present themselves to the diner. We’ve had a problem with this before. Unfortunately, it’s not just good food that keeps people coming back. it’s great and courteous service. I really feel that the arrogance comes from the upper management and not the servers because they have always been very good. If I am going to spend my hard earned income than I want to go to a place that I feel appreciated and at this location I don’t. So, get a new attitiude Arooji’s (and it better not be fake)! I really am surprised this location has lasted so long.
After I posted this, someone asked me why did I go after the 2 bad times. this does need some explaining. After the first bad experince, I wrote to the management and they sent me a gift card, that led me to go there the second time. Then a friend gave me a gift card which led me there for the 3^rd time. Remember I like the food just not the attitiude. So, this 4^th time was the Illios Noches was too crowded to wait. and it was close.